June 16, 2011

Free centrifuge and rotor safety clinic June 22 and 23

Sebastian Belfiore and Jeff Weber, Thermo Scientific, will be on campus June 22 and 23 for a free centrifuge and rotor safety clinic. They will focus on checking and inspecting floor-model centrifuge rotors. These are the rotors that need to be checked, derated and possibly retired based of their condition. Metal rotors will corrode without proper cleaning procedures. Metal rotors will also fatigue when run over 15,000 rpms for long periods of time. After 15-20 years of use metal rotors need to be retired because of fatigue.

Designed for both new and experienced centrifuge users, this clinic covers centrifugation theory and practice, promotes lab safety and reinforces centrifuge operations and best practices. The clinic will explain:

the distinction between low-speed, superspeed and ultraspeed centrifugation.

review the energy generated by a centrifuge, proper rotor installation and maintenance, tube selection and maintenance, causes and detection of rotor corrosion and metal fatigue, new technologies and actual rotor incidents.

Also, rotor inspection may be scheduled for all centrifuge rotors, regardless of brand. The rotor inspection will include age of rotor, condition of rotor and check for corrosion. These three factors contribute to the overall condition of the rotor. Depending on the condition of the rotor, it may be a good idea to budget for new rotors. The rotor should be cleaned before inspection.